The Art Museum at Yale University in New Haven CT - A Trip Down Memory Lane
On April 14, 2018 I took a little step back into time. I was down in New Haven at The Yale Bookstore signing copies of my book. Being in this area brought me back to a time in my life that was extremely turbulent. After I finished my duties at the bookstore my husband and I took a walk around the area. It was a bright, beautiful day outside and the air was fresh. As we walked hand in hand the sun felt so warm and inviting on our faces.
As we walked I started to reminisce about the past and explained how I walked these streets countless times by the Green in New Haven and the Art Museum. I explained how during some of the hardest times in my life I would seek refuge at the Museum, burying myself in rich culture of the past. There as I sat among the beautiful pieces of art work I could get lost for hours studying them and imaging myself being in the story that each picture was telling.
We came around the corner onto Chapel Street and there it was, my old place of refuge. Wow, for a moment it took my breath away as I smiled an old familiar smile, one that would hit my young face every time I walked up those stairs.
Now 30+ years later I am standing here in the exact same spot looking at it all through a new set of eyes and a broad prospective of why I came here in the first place. Up the stairs we go, as I told my husband old tales of the past. He is always my greatest listener and engages in all that I do. I loved that I was able to share this bit of history with him.
We made our way to the American Art section of the museum and I was telling him I always remembered the dark red walls, as that stuck out in my mind. As I made my way through the door it all hit me in a moment, as I visualized that young girl sitting in this big room filled with such culture and history. I saw her sadness and anguish as she contemplated what to do next in her life and how she needs to make big changes. I also saw a young girl dreaming of a future so very different from the world she lived in daily. So many emotions swirled inside my body as I saw young Lisa trying to figure it all out. Sitting alone in that big red room.
As an adult looking back at that moment I realized I was a quirky kid as I wanted to be lost in art and antique furniture. Yes, antique furniture. Down in the basement of the museum there was the history of furniture; another great place to hide from the world. Walking in my footsteps of the past gave me such clarity as to why I would retreat to this magnificent place of imagination. This incredible place saved my young mind from the daily pain that I was feeling, and it healed my troubled brain if only for a little while. This is where I would come to get a break from life! It is amazing how our body and mind gives us what we need without even knowing it at times.
I am grateful for this place, and that I was able to step back in that time period of my life, to give myself further understanding of who I was and why. This journey also has given me another level of healing. To be able to share this moment with my husband, my rock; the man who has always stayed by my side through all the madness, is a priceless moment.
I would like to say to all of you reading this today, that even though we always talk about moving forward in our lives, sometimes taking a little trip down memory lane can be therapeutic, healing and a great reminder of where you have been and how far you have come.
I talk about this very moment of my past in my memoir “The Unspoken Truth”, and it is a moment that I will treasure always.
God Bless
Lisa Zarcone
Author: THE UNSPOKEN TRUTH A MEMOIR
CHILD/MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE/PUBLIC SPEAKER/BLOGGER/INSPIRATIONALIST
